Zippered Film And Bag

ABSTRACT

Reclosable bags, plastic film for making the bags, and a method and apparatus for making the bags are disclosed. The bag has a reclosable fastener ( 26 ) connected to a single wall of the bag, and the film ( 55 ) has a reclosable fastener ( 26 ) connected to one side thereof which does not require attachment to any other portion of the film ( 55 ) when making a bag. The fastener ( 26 ) has a tamper-proof member attached thereto to indicate if the bag has been previously opened. The film ( 55 ) can be wound into a roll ( 54 ) suitable for use on conventional bag making machines including form, fill, and seal machines or a chain of coilable reclosable bags can be produced therefrom since the fasteners ( 26 ) are connected to the web preferably transversely to the bags longitudinal formation axis. The method and apparatus for making the film ( 55 ) includes supplying a continuous web of bag making material, feeding from a coil of continuous fastener material enough fastener material to make a single fastener, ( 26 ) positioning, cutting, and attaching the fastener ( 26 ) to the film ( 55 ), with a plurality of fasteners ( 26 ) attached thereon.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/242,777 filedSep. 23, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/708,649,filed Feb. 19, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.11/505,008, filed Aug. 16, 2006, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 10/914,995, filed Aug. 10, 2004, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 09/748,467 filed Dec. 26, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,799,921 issued Aug. 24, 2004; which is a continuation of Ser. No.09/456,179 filed Dec. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,172, issued Jan.23, 2001; which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/294,957 filed Apr. 20,1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,512, issued Feb. 1, 2000; which is acontinuation of Ser. No. 08/957,304 filed Oct. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,902,047, issued May 11, 1999; which is a continuation in part ofSer. No. 08/501,900 filed September 9, 1995, now abandoned.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to reclosable fasteners for attachment to plasticfilm, plastic film having a reclosable fastener transversely attachedthereon, bags made from plastic film having a reclosable fastenerattached thereto, and methods and apparatus for making film and bagshaving reclosable fasteners attached thereto. Even more particularly,the present invention is related to plastic film having a reclosablefastener thereon which may be used (a) in a form, fill, and sealpackaging machine to package items in a reclosable bag and (b) to makereclosable bags which may be connected to one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic bags are well known in the art. Such bags may be used forcontaining a variety of items. A popular use for plastic bags is tocontain and display food items such as poultry and the like. Exemplaryof the prior art are the following patents:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,140 discloses an easy-to-open synthetic resin bagincluding (a) a bag body substantially composed of a pair of laminatedwalls made of synthetic resin films, the peripheries of the laminatedwalls being heat-sealed to form a sealed border region while defining anunsealed storing space within the sealed border region, (b) a tearstring which is heat sealed along an imaginary opening line on theinside of one of the laminated walls, the tear string having both endsthereof heat sealed in a sandwiched condition on the correspondingportion of the sealed border region, (c) a pulling tab formed by cuttinga part of one side portion of the sealed bolder region which correspondsto one end of the tear string, the pulling tab being tearable from thebag body integrally with the tear string, and (d) a tear stringretaining portion including a transverse opening which is formed bycutting off a part of the other side portion of the sealed border regionand a pair of inside and outside heat sealed portions which are locatedat both sides of the transverse opening, the transverse openingextending in a direction perpendicular to the tear string such that thetear string passes through a central portion of the transverse opening.Due to such a tear string, retaining portion, the separation andcomplete removal of the tear string from the bag is reliably preventedwhile assuring the easy bag opening operation.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,736 discloses a reclosable package includinginterlocking closure strips positioned outside of a hermetic seal orseal area and the method for producing same. The hermetic seal is of theeasy-open or peelaway type so as to not destroy the integrity of thepackage or closure strips upon opening of the package.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,543 discloses a form, fill, seal and separatepackaging machine foreclosable containers to web by a plurality ofstations disposed along a path of travel of a thermoplastic webincluding a device to attach a pair of mated, resealable closure stripsto the base web. The machine is intermittent in its operation, withmovement of the web through the machine controlled so that the varioussteps of applying the closure strips, forming, filling, sealing andseparating the reclosable containers are performed during periodic stopsof the machine. The machine is further characterized by its use of twopairs of web belts to move the web through the machine. A first pair ofweb belts initially receive the folded web stock and partially form andcompletely fill the containers. The second pair of web belts overlapwith the downstream end of the first pair of belts, but are disposedlower than the first belts. When the filled partially formed containerspass from the first pair of belts to the second pair of belts, theunsealed free ends are exposed for final sealing and severing.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,530 discloses a modified zipper elements for easyopen containers having interlocking zipper elements and a tear strip foropening the container along the upper edge, wherein the bases of thezipper elements are extended upward towards the tear strip to limit thearea of tearing and protect the zipper elements, and a method formaking.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,017 discloses a reclosable bag material, method andapparatus which is a new method of making a form fill bag having areclosable fastener thereon and a mechanism therefor wherein acontinuous length of film is advanced and joined first and secondfastener profile strips are laid laterally onto the film of a lengthsubstantially equal to one-half of the film width, the film is advancedand formed into a tube with the side edges folded together and seamed,the first profile strip is attached to the surface of the film prior toforming it into the tube and the second opposed interlocked profilestrip is attached to the inner surface of the film after it is formedinto a tube, and a cross-seam is formed in the tube above the closurestrip to form the bottom of the succeeding bag, and a completed bag iscut from the film by cutting below the bottom seam and above thefastener strips.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,975 discloses a method and apparatus for makingreclosable bags with fastener strips in a form fill and seal machinefrom a supply of thin thermoplastic film with the film being formed intotubular shape about a filling tube with the edges of the film broughttogether and joined solely by a zipper strip having reclosable pressureinterlocking members thereon with the zipper strip preferably heatsealed to the film and the zipper strip having a web between thepressure interlocking members which provides a tamper-evident juncturebetween the edges of the film so that the web must be severed for accessto the interior of a bag formed from the film, and individual bagsformed from the continuous tube by filing the tube through the fillingtube and cross-seaming and cutting individual bags from the continuousfilm tube.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,951 discloses a reclosable package and method ofmaking reclosable package including interlocking closure stripspositioned outside of a hermetic seal or seal area and the method forproducing same. The hermetic seal is of the easy-open or peelaway typeso as to not destroy the integrity of the package or closure strips uponopening of the package.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,683 disclosed a reclosable bag, material, and methodof and a device for making same wherein in one aspect extrudedresiliently flexible plastic profiled reclosable fastener strip devicefor reclosable bags is located across the longitudinal formation axis ofthe bag wall web material, and in another aspect of the invention singlestrip fastener strip has at one or more suitable locations there alongseparations across the profiles, such as notches, to facilitate bendingor folding of the strip upon itself so that the self-interlockingprofiles of the portions of the strip folded upon themselves are adaptedfor reclosable interlocking with one another. The interlockable portionsof the strip may have separable airtight sealing ribs therealong. Theweb and fastener material and fastener assembly is especially suitablefor machines wherein the bags are formed, filled and sealed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,865 discloses a reclosable shipping sack and method,the sack having a pouring mouth from which discrete pourable contentsmay be discharged, including a primary non-reclosable stitched closurefastener across and closing the mouth against unintentional discharge othe contents and including a device such as chain stitch and rip stripfor facilitating digital opening of the primary closure fastener. Asecondary, reclosable fastener, desirably of the zipper type, extendsacross the sack mouth outwardly from the primary closure fastener and isadapted for selectively opening and closing the sack mouth after openingof the primary closure fastener. A method of making the reclosable sackis also disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,589 discloses a plastic bag having a closurestructure and a method for making same, the structure having a firstthin inner layer of flexible plastic material with a first fastenerelement extending therealong formed of a resilient material and being ofone piece with the layer, a second thin layer of flexibly plasticmaterial facing the first layer and having a uniform second fastenerelement extending therealong formed of a resilient material and being ofone piece with the second layer and shaped to be releasably interlockedwith the first fastener element, a first outer layer positioned over theouter surface of the first inner layer and laminated thereto, the firstinner and outer layers providing a first substantially monolithic wallso that the first inner layer provides a support with the layerscoacting and allowing a stronger lock with a thin film, and a secondouter layer positioned over the outer surface of the second inner layerand laminated thereto, the second inner and outer layers providing asecond substantially monolithic wall so that the second inner layerprovides a backing for the support allowing a stronger lock with a thinfilm, the outer layers laminated to the inner layer opposite fastenerelements so as to reinforce the inner layers in the area of the fastenerelements.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention thereis provided a reclosable bag made from plastic film having reclosablefastener assemblies thereon, film having a reclosable fastener assemblyattached thereon, and a method for making reclosable bags from plasticfilm having reclosable fastener assemblies thereon. The reclosable baghas a reclosable fastener assembly connected to a single wall of thebag, and the film has a reclosable fastener connected to one sidethereof which does not require attachment to any other portion of thefilm when making a bag. The fastener may have an easy bag openingtamper-proof member attached thereto to indicate if the bag has beenpreviously opened.

The film of the invention has the advantage of having a reclosablefastener assembly completely connected thereto prior to being fed to abag making machine or a form, fill, and seal machine, therebyeliminating the need to apply a reclosable fastener assembly during thebag making process or during the form, fill, and seal process, therebyeliminating the need for the equipment necessary to add a reclosablefastener during the form, fill, and seal process.

The film of the invention has the additional advantage of being capableof forming a reclosable bag on a vertical or horizontal form, fill, andseal machine.

The bag and film of the invention has the advantage of allowing thereclosable fastener assembly to be located at any desired distance fromthe top or bottom of the bag because the fastener assembly is attachedto only one wall of the bag of the invention. The length of the fastenerassembly may be much less than the width of a bag formed with thefastener assembly thereon. Such small length fasteners allow liquids,powders, and other small granular materials to be poured from the bagthrough the fastener assembly.

A good use for the bags of the invention when the ends of the fastenerassembly are not sealed to front wall of the bag is to storenon-perishable items such as ice glazed food products that are notsusceptible to freezer burn since air and moisture is able to enter thebag around the ends of the fastener assembly after the front wall of thebag has been penetrated to gain access to the fastener assembly or evenbefore the bag wall has been penetrated such as when a line ofperforations is utilized for allowing easy access to the fastenerassembly.

In accordance with the first, second and third embodiment of the presentinvention there is provided a method for making reclosable bags on a bagmaking machine where the reclosable fastener strips are independentlyattached to the same side of the bag film preferably transversely to thelongitudinal forming axis in-line with the bag making machine, a uniquetwo-piece interlocking fastener assembly that minimizes the size of theopening at the fastener strip ends, film having a plurality of theunique reclosable fasteners each with two interlocking profile stripsattached thereon, and an apparatus for attaching the unique fastenerassembly to a sheet of film including a mechanism for supplying acontinuous film of flexible bag material and a mechanism for feedingpreferably the coiled reclosable profile strip material preferablytransversely across the bag material film, and a mechanism forpositioning, cutting, and attaching enough of the reclosable profilestrip material to form a preferably transversely positioned reclosablefastener for a single bag during each cycle of the apparatus, thereclosable fasteners each being spaced a single bag length apart andeach profile strip of each reclosable fastener being maintained in theinterlocked position and being independently connected to the same sideof the film that forms one panel of the resulting bag. The bag materialcan be wound into a roll in the folded or unfolded state or fed directlyinto a conventional form, fill, and seal machine that is in-line withthe apparatus for positioning and attaching the reclosable fastenerstrip material to the bag material web.

In accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention there isprovided a chain of coilable interconnected reclosable bags and a methodfor making the same. A chain of bags are interconnected by a series ofpreferably transverse cross-seals including a plurality of spacedtearlines between adjacent bags. Each bag of the coilable chain includespreferably a transversely positioned reclosable fastener secured to theouter or inner surface of material that forms its front wall. Thepresent invention allows a single bag to be easily torn away from thechain of bags.

The method of making the chain of coilable reclosable bags includessupplying a continuous film of plastic web material and moving said filmforward in a bag forming direction. A plurality of reclosable fastenersare secured to the surface of the web material, that forms the frontwall of each bag, preferably transversely across the web. The web isdrawn forward bringing the inside surface of said web material thatforms the front wall of each bag next to the surface of a web materialthat forms the back wall of each bag. The longitudinal edges of the webmaterials that form the front and back wall of each bag are sealedtogether to form a tube of plastic web material.

The front wall and back wall of the tube are cross-sealed to each otherto form the top and bottom end of each bag. A tearline is cut in thetube between the seals of each bag and the chain of bags are coiled intoa roll. The method can include the application of a twin seal with atearline between them thereby creating a closed top end and a closedbottom end on each bag or a single seal and tearline can be appliedwhich creates an open end and a closed end on each bag. The method ofthe present invention also includes a rupturable line of weaknessapplied to the front wall of each bag adjacent to the reclosablefastener for entering the bag. The reclosable bags on a roll can beconveniently used by the customer. The reclosable bags of the presentinvention also have the unique property of being less likely to leakwhen the bag is placed on its back wall with the reclosable fastenerfacing up.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the bag of the first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partly cut-away, side elevational view of the bag shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the bag of FIG. 1 taken along lines3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a roll of film of the first embodimentof the present invention having a plurality of reclosable fastenersconnected thereto;

FIG. 5 is a partly cut-away, partly cross-sectional, detailedperspective view of the reclosable fastener connected to the bag of thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is perspective view of the bag of the second embodiment of thepresent invention including a pull-out plug for easy opening;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the bag of FIG. 6A taken alonglines 6B-6B of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the film of the second embodiment ofthe invention wound into a coil without a supporting core;

FIG. 6D is a perspective view of the film of the second embodiment ofthe invention staggered into a fan-folded stack;

FIG. 6E is a perspective view of an apparatus for connecting thereclosable fasteners of the invention to a sheet of film;

FIG. 6F is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6F-6F of FIG. 6Eshowing the fastener attaching device heat sealing the fastener to thefilm of the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the roll of film of the thirdembodiment of the present invention having a plurality of reclosablefasteners connected onto a folded web;

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a bag made from the film of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a partly cut-away, partly cross-sectional detailedperspective view taken along lines 7C-7C of FIG. 7A of a reclosablefastener of the invention connected to the film of the invention;

FIG. 8A is a side view of the bags of the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the bag of FIG. 8A taken alonglines 8B-8B of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is a web material flow diagram showing the method of the fourthembodiment of the present invention of converting the extruded film intoreclosable bags on a roll;

FIG. 8D is a perspective view of the front wall web material of thefourth embodiment wound into a coil; and

FIG. 8E is a perspective view of the front wall web material of thefourth embodiment of the invention staggered into a fan-folded stack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, in FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown the reclosablebag of the invention generally indicated by the numeral 10. Bag 10 has atop end generally indicated by the numeral 12 and a bottom end generallyindicated by the numeral 14. Bag 10 has a front wall 16 and a back wall18.

Bag 10 has a seal 20 at the top end 12 at which the front wall 16 isjoined to the back wall 18, and a seal 22 at the bottom end at which thefront wall 16 is joined to the back wall 18. Located on the back wall 18is a seam generally indicated by the numeral 24.

As best can be seen in FIG. 5, connected to front wall 16 is areclosable fastener assembly generally indicated by the numeral 26having two opposite ends 26 a and 26 b. Reclosable fastener assembly 26includes two profile strips generally indicated by the numerals 28 and30 which are shown in the drawings to be interlocked. Profile strip 28contains a groove 32 and profile strip 30 contains a protuberance 34which is lockingly received in the groove 32.

Each end 26 a and 26 b of reclosable fastener assembly 26 is preferablysealed in any conventional manner such as heat sealing to the inside offront wall 16 to prevent air or liquids from entering or leaving bag 10through the ends 26 a and 26 b of reclosable fastener assembly 26 afterthe front wall 16 has been opened by the user of the bag 10 to gainaccess to reclosable fastener assembly 26. However, if desired, the ends26 a and 26 b need not be sealed to the inside of front wall 16, andafter opening front wall 16, air or liquids can enter or leave bag 10through the ends 26 a and 26 b of bag 10 and through the opening infront wall 16.

The bag 10 is air tight prior to opening the front wall 16 to gainaccess to reclosable fastener assembly 26. Therefore, products can bevacuum packed in bag 10.

Groove 32 is formed in groove body 36, and groove body 36 is connectedto groove body arm 38. A portion of groove body arm 38 is connected tothe inside of front wall 16 at seal 40. Groove body arm 38 could be madeseparately from groove body 36 and attached to groove body 36 in anyconventional manner such as heat sealing.

Protuberance 34 is integrally connected to protuberance body 42, andprotuberance body 42 is integrally connected to protuberance body leg44. A portion of protuberance body leg 44 is connected to the inside offront wall 16 at seal 46. Protuberance body leg 44 could be madeseparately from protuberance body 42 and attached to protuberance body42 in any conventional manner such as heat sealing.

A string 48 for tearing a portion of front wall 16 to expose and provideaccess to reclosable fastener 26 is located adjacent to the inside offront wall 16 and seal 40. String 48 has an exposed end 50 connected topull tab 52 for grasping by the customer and pulling to tear a portionof the front wall 16 covering reclosable fastener 26. If desired, string48 could be replaced with a plurality of perforations in front wall 16between seal 40 and protuberance body 42. If desired, string 48 and theplurality of perforations in front wall 16 could be omitted from bag 10,and the portion of front wall 16 between seal 40 and protuberance body42 could be opened with a sharp object such as knife or scissors.

A roll of film 54 on a paper core 54 a placed on an axle or roller 56containing the reclosable fastener 26 is shown in FIG. 4. Film roll 54can be prepared by connecting reclosable fastener 26 to a flat sheet offilm 55 at seal 40 and 46. String 48 of reclosable fastener 26 may beconnected to reclosable fastener 26 prior to attaching reclosablefastener 26 to film 55. If desired, film 55 may be perforated to allowstring 48 to extend therethrough. Also, as stated above, string 48 couldbe eliminated and replaced with a plurality of perforations on frontwall 16 to permit access to reclosable fastener 26 by tearing along theplurality of perforations. If desired, reclosable fastener 26 could beattached to film 55 parallel to the edge 55 a of film 55, i.e., rotated90 degrees from the orientation shown in FIG. 4 where reclosablefastener is shown in the preferred orientation perpendicular to theparallel edges 55 a of film 55.

To make the bag 10 of the invention from the roll of film 54, each side56 and 58 of the film 54 is folded together as shown in FIG. 1 tooverlap and form seal 24. The combined length of sides 56 and 58 must begreater than the length of reclosable fastener 26 to enable seal 24 tobe formed. Top seal 20 and bottom seal 22 can then be madesimultaneously or in any desired order. For example, bottom seal 22could be made first, the bag could then be filled with a product such asa food item or the like, and then the top seal 20 could be made. Theroll of film 54 could be used on a conventional form, fill, and sealmachine. Such machines are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No.4,617,683 shows a typical form, fill, and seal operation with theexception that a reclosable fastener is added, and U.S. Pat. No.4,617,683 is hereby incorporated by reference.

Any conventional bag making film known in the art may be utilized as thefilm stock to make bag 10. The seals of the invention are preferablymade by heat sealing as is well known in the art. Such bag film iscommonly referred to as plastic film, and is commonly made frompolymeric materials.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B is shown the reclosable bag of thesecond embodiment of the invention generally indicated by the numeral110. Bag 110 has a top end generally indicated by the numeral 112 and abottom end generally indicated by the numeral 114. Bag 110 has a frontwall 116 and a back wall 118.

Bag 110 has a generally horizontal seal 120 at the top end 112 at whichthe front wall 116 is joined to the back wall 118, and a seal 122generally parallel to seal 120 at the bottom end at which the front wall116 is joined to the back wall 118. Located on the back wall 118 is aseam generally indicated by the numeral 124 which is generallyperpendicular to seal 120 and 122.

As can best be seen in FIG. 6A, connected to front wall 116 is areclosable fastener assembly generally indicated by the numeral 126having two opposite ends 126 a and 126 b. Reclosable fastener assembly126 includes two fastener profile strips generally indicated by thenumerals 128 and 130 which are shown in the drawings to be interlocked.Fastener profile strip 128 contains a groove 132 and fastener profilestrip 130 contains a protuberance 134 which is lockingly received in thegroove 132.

Groove 132 is formed into groove body 136, and groove body 136 isconnected to groove body arm 138. A portion of groove body arm 138 isconnected by heat-sealing or welding to the inside of front wall 116 atseal 140. As shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B groove body 136 is connectedto a groove body leg 139. A portion of groove body leg 139 may beconnected to the inside of front wall 116 at peelable seal 141.

Peelable seals such as peelable seal 141 are well known in the art andare disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,736, which is hereby incorporatedby reference. Peelable seals such as peelable seal 141 are made to peelopen easily using minimal opening forces by utilizing lowsealingtemperatures, reduced dwell time, and light pressures. Peelable sealscan also be produced by utilizing a single polymer or from a combinationof polymers that molecularly produce low seal strengths.

As can best be seen in FIG. 6B, protuberance 134 is preferablyintegrally connected to protuberance body 142. A portion of protuberancebody 142 is connected by heat-sealing or welding to the inside of frontwall 116 at seal 146.

As can be seen in FIG. 6A, an easy opening pull-out plug 150 is locatedon bag 110 and is defined by a plurality of perforations 150 a in frontwall 116 between seal 140 and seal 146. Pull-out plug 150 may be torn orpulled-out as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6 to expose and provideaccess to reclosable fastener 126. Pull-out plug 150 is similar to thepull-out plug disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,965, which is herebyincorporated by reference. Pull-out plug 150 has an exposed tab or end153 connected to pull-out plug 150 for grasping by the customer andpulling in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6A to removepull-out plug 150 and provide an opening 153 a in the front wall 116covering reclosable fastener 126. If desired, pull-out plug 150 could bereplaced with a single line of perforations or line of weakness such asis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,213, which is hereby incorporated byreference. If desired, easy opening pull-out plug 150 and perforations150 a in front wall 116 could be emitted from bag 110, and the portionof front wall 116 between seal 140 and seal 146 could be a continuoussheet of film which could be opened with a sharp instrument such asknife or scissors. Bag 110 would be well suited for packaging perishableitems such as cereal and the like since peelable seal 141 would preventthe passage of air and moisture into the bag through reclosable fastenerassembly 126 when bag 110 includes an easy opening feature such aspull-out plug 150 that requires perforations to be cut through frontwall 116 of bag 110.

Thus, to open a bag 110 that has been filled with a desired product suchas rice, cereal, meat, or the like, pull-out plug 150 is torn or pulledout as explained above to expose and provide access to reclosablefastener 126 through opening 153 a. Profile strip 130 is then pulledaway from profile strip 128, forcing peelable seal 141 away from sealingcontact with the inside of front wall 116. The interior of bag 110 maythen be accessed through opening 153 a, between profile strips 128 and130, and between front wall 116 and peelable seal 141. As mentionedabove, pull-out plug 150 could be replaced with a line of perforationsor line of weakness or a continuous sheet of film, and reclosablefastener assembly 126 would be accessed by tearing the line ofperforations or weakness, or opening the sheet of film with a knife orscissors.

Each end 126 a and 126 b of reclosable fastener assembly 126 ispreferably sealed at seams 126 c and 126 d in any conventional mannersuch as heat sealing to the inside of front wall 116 to prevent air orliquids from entering or leaving bag 110 through the openings 125 a and125 b at ends 126 a and 126 b of reclosable fastener assembly 126 afterthe front wall 116 has been penetrated by the user of the bag 110 togain access to reclosable fastener assembly 126. However, if desired,the openings 125 a and 125 b at ends 126 a and 126 b need not be sealedto the inside of front wall 116, and after penetrating front wall 116,air or liquids can enter or leave bag 110 through the openings 125 a and125 b at ends 126 a and 126 b of bag 110 and through the penetrations infront wall 116.

Groove body arm 138 and groove body leg 139 could be an integral part ofgroove body 136 or as shown in 6B could be made separately from groovebody 136 and attached to groove body 136 during a separate operation inany conventional manner such as heat sealing. Groove body arm 138 andgroove body leg 139 could be opaque in color for optically identifyingwhere one bag should end and another bag begins without having to printsome type of colored identifier on the film at each bag location.

To make the bag 110 as shown in FIG. 6A of the invention from the coilof film 60 as shown in FIG. 6C, each side 156 and 158 of the film 155 isfolded together as shown in FIG. 6A to overlap and form seal 124. Thecombined length of sides 156 and 158 must be greater than the length ofreclosable fastener 126 to enable seal 124 to be formed. Top seal 120and bottom seal 122 can then be made simultaneously or in any desiredorder. For example, bottom seal 122 could be made first, the bag couldthen be filled with a product such as a food item or the like, and thenthe top seal 120 could be made. The coil of film 40 could be used on aconventional form, fill, and seal machine. Such machines are well knownin the art.

As shown in FIG. 6C film 155 could also be wound after a plurality ofreclosable fastener assemblies 126 have been attached along with aplurality of perforations, lines of weakness, or pull-out plugs into acoreless coil 60 or as shown in FIG. 6D film 155 could be formed into afan folded stack 65 in a zig-zag fashion. Film 155 could be folded aftera plurality of reclosable fasteners 126 have been attached along with aplurality of perforations, lines of weakness, or pull-out plugs 150prior to being formed into a coil 60 or into a fan-folded stack 65.

As shown in FIG. 6E an apparatus 170 for making zippered film includesan unwinding device 175 for feeding a continuous supply of bag film 155forwardly while attaching a plurality of two-piece reclosable fastenerassemblies such as fastener assembly 126 to the inner surface of thefilm 155 that forms the inside of each resulting bag 110. The fastenerassemblies 126 are fed laterally across the upper surface of the film155 at right angles to the machine direction, that is, transversely tothe longitudinal forming axis of the film. The fastener material 126 issupplied from a spool 171 fed through a guide slot 172 up to a stopplate 173. Stop plate 173 has a tab 173 a connected thereto which isforce fitted in slot 172 a in the top of guide slot 172 enabling thelocation of stop plate 173 within guide slot 172 to be varied as desiredfor different fastener assembly lengths. A cut-off device 177 cuts alength of fastener material 126. Cut-off device 177 is similar toapparatus that are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,017 and U.S. Pat. No.4,617,683. U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,017 is hereby incorporated by reference.

As can best be seen in FIG. 6F, both groove body 136 and protuberancebody 142 of each reclosable fastener assembly 126 are independentlyconnected to the film by a mechanism which includes an attaching device179 such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,017 that preferablyutilizes heat sealing technology. Device 179 includes a first platen 179a that is heated and an second platen 179 b that could also be heated.First and second platens 179 a and 179 b have a device for moving thetwo platens together and apart such as cylinders 178 a and 178 b thatare shown in FIG. 6E. First platen 179 b includes guide slot 172 whichextends from one end of platen 179 b to the other end of platen 179 bfor positioning the fastener assembly 126 accurately while sealingfastener assembly 126 to film 155 to create roll of film 154. Eachfastener assembly 126 is connected to the film 155 in a location that ispreferably a single bag's length away from the previous fastenerassembly 126.

As shown in FIG. 6E a punching mechanism 180 for providing an easy bagopening feature such as a line of perforations, or a pull-plug 150 onfilm 155 could be added to the apparatus for making roll of film 154.The punching mechanism 180 could consist of a single serrated blade toproduce a single line of perforations in film 155 with each stroke ofthe mechanism 180 or as shown a serrated elongated shaped rectangularblade 181 with circular ends could be utilized to produce pull-out plug150 in film 155 with each stroke of the mechanism 180.

Any device known in the art for providing easy opening features could beutilized. The location of the mechanism 180 for providing easy openingcould be incorporated into the apparatus 170 for making roll of film 154anywhere desirable, but the mechanism 180 would preferably be located ina place whereby the easy opening feature would be provided in or on thefilm 155 immediately prior to the attaching of reclosable fastenerassembly 126 onto film 155.

The apparatus 170 for making rolls of film 154 includes a rewindingdevice 182 for winding film 155 into a roll on a supporting core 154 aor into coil 60 without supporting core material as shown in FIG. 6C.The rewinding device 182 could be replaced by a device capable offorming film 155 into a fan folded stack 65 in a zig-zag fashion asshown in FIG. 6D.

The apparatus for making zippered film could be connected to a form,fill, and seal machine, that is, provided in-line or part of the form,fill, and seal machine. As a result the method for making bag 110 wouldnot require that film 155 be formed into a roll of film 154 since thefilm 155 would be fed directly into the form, fill, and seal machine.The device 182 for rewinding the film into roll 154 would not be arequired part of the apparatus for making zippered film when the in-linemethod is used. As a result of not having to wind film 155 into a roll154, film 155 could have the fastener assemblies 126 attached byapparatus 170 parallel to the longitudinal forming axis of film 155 asshown in FIG. 8D rather than transversely to the longitudinal formingaxis.

Any conventional bag making film known in the art may be utilized as afilm stock to make bag 110. The seals of the invention are preferablymade by heat sealing as, is well known in the art. Such bag film iscommonly referred to as plastic film, and is commonly made frompolymeric materials.

In FIG. 7A and 7B is shown an alternate embodiment of reclosablefastener assembly 126 generally indicated by the numeral 1266 connectedto a sheet of film 1155. A roll of folded film 1154 on a paper core 1154a containing the pre-applied reclosable fastener assembly 1266 is shownin FIG. 7A. As can best be seen in FIG. 7A film roll 1154 can beprepared by connecting reclosable fastener assembly 1266 to a flat sheetof film 1155 at seal 1400 and seal 1466. A single line of perforationsor line of weakness 1155 b is provided in film 1155, such as thosedisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,213, to provide access through film1155 when reclosable fastener assembly 1266 is opened. After a pluralityof reclosable fastener assemblies 1266 are connected to film 1155 and asingle line of perforations or line of weakness 1155 b are provided infilm 1155, film 1155 is folded and wound on a paper core 1154 a as shownin FIG. 7A. If desired, a pull-out plug 150 described above could besubstituted for the single line of perforations or line of weakness 1155b in film 1155. In FIG. 7A a folded web of bag film is shown with oneside longer than the other creating a lip 1155 a which is commonlyreferred to in the art as J-sheeting. J-sheeting with the reclosablefastener assemblies 1266 pre-applied as shown in FIG. 7A can be formedinto reclosable bags by many different bag machine types known in theart such as side-weld bag machines that are used to manufacture manydifferent bag types such as bread bags.

As can best be seen in FIG. 7C reclosable fastener assembly 1266 hasgroove body 1366 with groove body arm 1388 connected at the locking side1366 a of groove body 1366 so as to minimize the size of opening 1255 aat fastener end 1266 a and opening 1255 b at fastener end 1266 b. An armsuch as 1388 is connected at the locking side of either profile strip1366 perpendicular to the direction the protuberance 1344 of theprotuberance body 1424 is lockingly received by the groove 1322 of thegroove body 1366. If desired, profile strip 1366 could be interchangedwith profile strip 1422 and arm 1388 could be attached to profile strip1422 in the same manner in which arm 1388 is shown attached to profilestrip 1366, and profile strip 1366 would be connected to the inside offilm 1155 by heat-sealing or welding as was profile strip 1422. Theprofile strip including the arm 1388 of fastener 1266 needs to be theone of the two profile strips farthest from the film 1155 to whichfastener assembly 1266 is connected. By reducing the size of openings1255 a and 1255 b at fastener ends 1266 a and 1266 b, the flow of airand liquids can be minimized through the ends 1266 a and 1266 b.

Shown in FIG. 7B is a third embodiment of the present inventiongenerally indicated by the numeral 1010 being formed from J-sheeted film1155. Reclosable bag 1010 has a front wall 1012 and a rear wall 1014which are made from a single, integral piece of plastic film. Front wall1012 is joined to rear wall 1014 by side seams 1016 and 1018 and bybottom fold 1020. Front wall 1012 has a top edge 1012 b which is notconnected to rear wall 1014, and rear wall 1014 has a top edge 1014 bwhich is not connected to front wall 1012. Top edge 1014 b is located ata distance above top edge 1012 b to form lip 1155 a. Thus a mouth 1022is formed in the top of bag 1010. Goods such as poultry, beef, or anyother product to be stored in bag 1010 could be inserted into bag 1010through mouth 1022. As shown in FIG. 7B bag 1010 includes a seam 1025sealing off mouth 1022. Seam 1025 is normally created after bag 1010 hasbeen filled with the goods to be stored in bag 1010. Bag 1010 has areclosable fastener assembly 1266 connected to the inside of front wall1012 at seal 1400 and seal 1466. Reclosable fastener assembly 1266 ispositioned transversely to the longitudinal forming axis of film 1155that forms bag 1010. Bags such as bag 1010 are commonly referred to inthe art as side seal or side weld bags and are usually sold to productpackers as finished bags that are often hand loaded before being sealedshut. A good use for reclosable bag 1010 would be to package bakeryitems such as tortillas.

Reclosable bag 1010 could be formed from J-sheeted film 1155 whichincludes reclosable fastener assemblies 1266 that have been attached bya machine, such as apparatus 170 shown in FIG. 6E, that is in-line withthe bag forming process and therefore film 1155 would not need to bewound into roll 1154. As a result of having never to be wound into aroll 1154, as shown in FIG. 8D film 1155 could have the reclosablefastener assemblies 1266 positioned parallel to the longitudinal formingaxis of film 1155 rather than positioned transversely to thelongitudinal forming axis.

Referring now to FIG. 8A and 8B is the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention showing a collapsed tubular web generally indicated by numeral218 of plastic having a front wall 211 and a rear wall 212. The tubularweb 218 includes a plurality of identical interconnected reclosable bags210. Each bag 210 has a top end 223 and a bottom end 224. Each bag 210has a front wall 211 and a back wall 212.

Each bag 210 has a seal 220 a at the top end 223 and a seal 220 b at thebottom end 224 at which the front wall 211 is joined to the back wall212. Each bag 210 has side edge seals 221 a and 221 b at which the frontwall 211 is joined to the back wall 212.

As can best be seen in FIG. 8B, connected to front wall 211 is areclosable fastener generally indicated by the numeral 213. Reclosablefastener 213 includes two interlocking profile strips generallyindicated by the numerals 214 and 215 which are shown in the drawings tobe interlocked. Profile strip 214 contains a groove 225 and profilestrip 215 contains a protuberance 226 that is lockingly received in thegroove 225.

A flange 216 is connected to the outside of profile strip 214. Flange216 is connected to front panel 211 along flange edge 219. A rupturableperforation line 217 in front wall 211 provides a tear line for tearingopen to enter bag 210 once the reclosable fastener 213 is opened. Eachend 216 a and 216 b of flange 216 is preferably secured to front wall211 in any conventional manner such as heat sealing to the front wall211 to prevent air or liquids from entering or leaving through flangeends 216 a and 216 b. However, if desired, the flange ends 216 a and 216b need not be sealed to the front wall 211 so air and liquids can enteror leave bag 210 through the flange ends 216 a and 216 b.

The flange 216 could be integrally connected to the profile strip 214 oras shown in FIG. 8B the flange 216 could be made separately from profilestrip 214 and attached to flange 216 in any conventional manner such asheat sealing.

Reclosable fastener 213 with attached flange 216 could be replaced withany of the previously described fastener arrangements such as shown inFIG. 5 which includes a groove body arm 38 and a groove body leg 44 foruse in attaching reclosable fastener assembly 26 to the inside of thewall that forms the front panel of the bag instead of attaching fastenerassembly 26 to the outside of the wall of the front panel of the bag asshown in FIG. 8A and 8B. Reclosable bags such as bag 210 could be usedas freezer storage bags and would be very conveniently dispensed from aroll or coil rather than individual bags that are loosely packed.

The collapsed tubular web 218 or reclosable bags 210 is formed byconnecting a plurality of bags 210 together by perforation lines 222extending across the tube 218 transversely to the side edge seams 221 aand 221 b and between the top end seals 220 a and bottom end seals 220 bof two adjacent bags 210.

The preferred method of producing the collapsed tubular web ofreclosable bags of the present invention according to FIG. 8C requires aplastic film be blown into a tube 251 on a conventional blown film tubeextrusion machine 250. Such machines are well known in the art. U.S.Pat. No. 3,543,343 shows a typical blown film tube extrusion machinewith the exception that a reclosable fastener is added, and U.S. Pat.No. 3,543,343 is hereby incorporated by reference. The tube 251 iscollapsed and both side edges are slit open creating two separate websof material 211 and 212. After passing over several idler rolls such as252 a and 252 b, the two webs of material 211 and 212 are forced tofollow two different web paths. Web material 211 that forms the frontwall travels through a sealing device 256 where a series of spacedreclosable fasteners 213 are transversely secured to the underside ofthe web material 211, a bag's length apart, by preferably heat sealing.Reclosable fasteners 213 are preferably only slightly shorter than thewidth of web material 211. Such sealing devices are well known in theart. U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,017 shows such a device. Rupturable perforationlines 217 are cut in front wall 211 adjacently below the reclosablefastener 213 by sealing device 256. A serrated knife 257 required toproduce the perforation line 217 is incorporated into the typicalsealing device 256.

Back wall web material 212 is diverted around sealing device 256 bypassing over preferably at least one additional idler roll 253. At nipsection 258 the web materials that form the front wall 211 and the backwall 212 are rejoined by passing through two preferably driven nip rolls258 a and 258 b where they are secured together by continues seams alongthe longitudinal edges 224 a and 224 b of front wall 211 and thelongitudinal edges 224 c and 224 d of back wall 212 by any conventionalmethod such as heat sealing.”

The web materials that form front wall 211 and the rear wall 212 withtheir peripheral edges 224 a, 224 b 224 c, and 224 d, sealed togetherreform a tube 218 with a plurality of spaced reclosable fasteners 213and perforation lines 217 transversely secured a bag's length apartalong the length of tube 218.

The tube 218 passes through a cutting cross-sealing device 260 thatapplies one bag stop end seal 220 a and the adjacent bags bottom endseal 220 b simultaneously while cutting the perforation line 222extending transversely across the tube 218 and between the top end seals220 a and bottom end seal 220 b. Such cutting sealing devices are wellknown in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,962 shows a typical cuttingsealing device with the exception that a straight cut is included formaking separated bags. While the present invention could also produceseparated bags the preferred embodiment is bags connected to one anotherby the perforation lines 222 between adjacent bags. The device of U.S.Pat. No. 4,449,962 could accomplish this by utilizing a serrated knife,and U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,962 is hereby incorporated by reference.

The tube 218 has been converted, as described above, into a series ofreclosable bags 210 connected together making it possible to wind theminto roll 262 by any conventional winding machine 263. The reclosablebags 210 can be wound onto any preferred core material 264 such as apaper tube or can be would into roll 262 without any supporting corematerial 264. Roll 262 can be produced with any desired number ofreclosable bags 10 making up the roll 262.

As shown in FIG. 8D front wall web material 211 could be wound after aplurality of reclosable fasteners 213 have been attached along with aplurality of rupturable perforation lines 217 into a coil 270 or asshown in FIG. 8E, front wall web material 211 could be formed into a fanfolded stack 275 in a zig-zag fashion. If desired, a plurality ofreclosable fasteners shown in phantom lines generally indicated by thenumeral 213 a could be positioned on film 211 in a direction parallel tothe longitudinal forming axis. Front wall web material 211 could also bewound into a roll on a supporting core material such as was shown in thethird embodiment of the present invention. Front wall web material 211in the roll, coiled, or fan folded state could be formed into reclosablebags during packaging operations where product is being sandwichedbetween front web material 211 and another web such as back wall webmaterial 212 resulting in a bag such as reclosable bag 210 that containsproduct within. The packaging of products as previously described iswell known in the art and a specific product that could utilize areclosable bag formed as described would be sliced bacon. Anyconventional bag making film known in the art may be utilized as thefilm stock to make bag 210. Such bag film is commonly referred to asplastic film, and is commonly made from polymeric or polyolefinmaterials such as polyethylene. The seals and seams of the invention arepreferably made by heat sealing but any other well known methods ofsecuring polymeric materials together such as applying adhesives couldalso be utilized.

Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been describedin detail above, it should be understood that the invention is in nosense limited thereby. Other variations are possible. For examplereferring to the fourth embodiment, a single web of material could beunwound from a roll and folded, out of line with blown film tubeextrusion machine 250, after the reclosable fasteners 213 have beenattached and the perforated bag openings 217 have been applied. Then theside opposite the fold could be sealed closed and the remaining steps ofthe method of making reclosable bags on a roll according to the presentinvention would follow as previously described above. Also a device forstaggering the bags could replace the winder so as to fan fold stack theinterconnected bags into a container in a zigzag fashion versus windingthem into a roll. Furthermore, the top end 223 of each bag 210 could beunsealed so the series of bags could be dispensed from the roll with oneend open, allowing product to be loaded through the open end and latersealed shut by the user after loading. The rupturable line of weakness217 could also be eliminated requiring the user to cut each bag open ora tear string could be incorporated to assist in creating an openingadjacent the reclosable profile strips 214 and 215 of each bag 210. Inaddition the front wall 211 could be formed from a transparent flexiblefilm and the back wall 212 could be formed from a opaque flexible film.As taught in the fourth embodiment, many other applications couldutilize a film with pre-applied reclosable fasteners that are greaterthan half the width of the web each located a bag length apart with eachprofile strip independently connected to the same side of the film, suchas, lidding films for vacuum formed trays or lidding films coveringforming webs used in vacuum packaging.

Many of the elements of the various embodiments of the present inventioncould be interchanged with one another, e.g., the reclosable fastenerassembly of the second embodiment could be substituted for the fastenerassembly of the third embodiment and vice versa. The fastener assembliesof the present invention could not only be interchanged, but they couldbe positioned transversely or parallel to the longitudinal forming axisof the zippered film as shown in FIG. 8D. Therefore, many combinationsand substitutions are possible as is made apparent from the teachings ofmy invention. Accordingly, the scope of my invention should bedetermined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the followingappended claims and their legal equivalents.

1-49. (canceled)
 50. A reclosable bag, comprising: a bag body formed from at least one rectangular sheet of film material, said bag body having a top end, a bottom end, a front wall, and a back wall, said front wall being joined to said back wall by upper and lower seams respectively provided at said top and bottom ends; and a reclosable fastener assembly positioned within said bag body and having first and second fastener strips respectively extending along the length of the assembly, said fastener strips being configured for releasable engagement with each other; said first fastener strip being joined at a first seal to an inside surface said front wall of said bag body, and said second fastener strip being joined at a second seal to said inside surface of said front wall of said bag body, said first seal being located above said second seal; said front wall of said bag body having a removable plug, defined by a weakened region of said front wall, positioned between said first seal and said second seal, and extending parallel to said reclosable fastener assembly, said removable plug being removable to provide an opening for accessing said reclosable fastener assembly within said bag body, said opening being spaced from said reclosable fastener assembly so that a portion of said front wall of said bag body extends between said reclosable fastener assembly said opening.
 51. The reclosable bag in accordance with claim 50, wherein said bag body is formed from a single sheet of film material, with lateral edges of said rectangular sheet of film material from which said bag body is formed joined to each other along a back seam extending along said back wall, said fastener assembly having a length no more than one-half the width of said rectangular sheet of film.
 52. The reclosable bag in accordance with claim 50, wherein said weakened portion formed on said front wall comprises perforations.
 53. The reclosable bag in accordance with claim 50, wherein said fastener assembly includes at least one flange joining a respective one of said first and second fastener strips to the inside surface of said front wall of said bag body at a respective one of said first and second seals. 